


Wild People and Lilith's Art

by ymaoh



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Bloodbending (Avatar), F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:55:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25015840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ymaoh/pseuds/ymaoh
Summary: Zuko wants Katara to show him bloodbending.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 150





	Wild People and Lilith's Art

**Author's Note:**

> Zuko wants Katara to show him bloodbending. Takes place after the "The Southern Raiders" episode. Please forgive any inaccuracies - I have not seen Korra yet.

Bloodbending.

The idea of taking over someone’s body was abhorrent to her. Controlling their movements, their decisions, their very will seemed wrong. It was dark and scary; something she associated with Hama. That old crone had corrupted her waterbending into something dark out of necessity, backed into a corner by the Fire Nation, and it had turned her twisted. Katara recalled the image of Hama on that fateful night so long ago, her aged and cracked skin twisted up with glee as she used her powers to create mere puppets out of the villagers. Out of Aang and Sokka. There had been a madness in her pale eyes, a glint of something terrible. Sure, she had created bloodbending as a last resort but that was no excuse for what she had become.

Katara would not be like that.

She had used bloodbending only twice, the first time was just to save her friends but the second had been to get information out of the Southern Raiders commander. That was not a last resort. It was not a necessity. There could have been other ways to stop him, to make him talk. She could have easily used her waterbending to subdue him. Katara had done it to hurt him, to humiliate him. She had enjoyed that. Seeing a man so high and mighty brought down, helpless to attack back, finally given a piece of what he deserved. He might not have been the man she was seeking but he had no doubt brought misery to countless other families.

She should not think that way.

She imagined what Aang would think if she ever revealed that to him. Would he reproach her? Tell her she was no better than Hama? She knew in her heart that it had been a mistake, that she should never have sunk to that level. Her Gran-Gran’s face appeared in her mind, silently reproving.

Katara shook her head, bringing her back to the here and now. She was standing in the courtyard of the summerhouse on Emerald Island. She had been going through the waterbending stances in order to shake of her anxiety about the fight ahead. She was tired – La, was she tired – but she found it hard to sleep. She had watched her friends sleep for an hour or so before finally admitting defeat and she dragged herself out into the courtyard. The night hummed with fireflies and she found it still warm out – something she could never quite get used to. For a second she missed her home in the South Pole so intensely that she had to shut her eyes. She could almost feel the frost and snow. She would live through this to see it again – they all would.

She had shed her outter clothes before training and already her skin prickled with sweat. The waterbending motions were fluid and elegant but rigorous. Her limbs swept out gracefully, perfectly in step.

It was night and the full moon blazed above her. It had been that sight that made her think about Hama. She always felt powerful when it was nearing a full moon and tonight it was as though her body was on fire. She could feel the moonlight on her skin, the glow gently caressing her.

Her hair fell free from its usual binds in tangles and stuck to her neck and forehead uncomfortably. She had been too tired to put it up before training but now regretted that decision.

She moved forwards and twisted gracefully, kartwheeling once…twice…before her feet found the floor again.

“Katara? What are you doing awake?”

She hadn’t heard anyone approach. She looked back and saw Zuko walking down the steps that lined the courtyard. He looked as though he had just awoken – his dark hair was untidy and his movements slow. He had obviously thrown on his rumpled clothes from the day before as his robes were knotted loosely. The skin of his smooth chest looked positively porcelain under in the moonlight.

“Couldn’t sleep,” she answered truthfully. They were outside but she still spoke quietly – it seemed too peaceful a night for raised voices.

“I woke up and saw you gone. I was worried-” Zuko seemed embarrassed to continue. He ran a hand through his hair. “I know you can handle yourself, but I don’t think it’s a good idea of walk off alone. Not here.”

“I just wanted to practice. It’s a full moon.”

_You rise with the moon; I rise with the sun._

She finished a particularly grueling form – one that required precision and balance. She exhaled, trying to keep her breathing steady.

“I never knew waterbending was so…graceful,” Zuko said, watching her intently.

“That’s because it was usually directed at you.”

“Point taken.”

“The water has to be manipulated gently…has to be almost carried…not just thrown about.”

“Are you saying firebending isn’t?”

Katara finally stopped. She picked up a towel from the steps and dabbed her skin with it, regarding him thoughtfully. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “From what I’ve seen of firebending…it’s always aggressive…scary…It’s used like a weapon.”

She watched as Zuko shook his head and, removing his robe, took her place in the courtyard. She sat down on the steps and watched as he stretched before slipping into some basic firebending forms. Most of it looked quite like what she’d seen before but then he moved into some more advanced forms. She watched – captivated. The way he was moving now was new and yet oddly familiar. His movements were graceful – elegant. He was moving with the same poise that she strived for.

Perhaps their styles of bending were more similar than she’d thought.

His voice was quiet but firm. “The fire is not a weapon – but warmth, life. Like holding a beating heart.”

Under his black hair, his expression was serene. He no doubt felt the same wave of peace that she did when she moved through the forms. Even though he was a firebender, the same energy must flow through him. An idea struck her. She stood up again and took a place a few meters away from him, but still facing him. She began to copy his movements, unsure at first, but gradually getting better.

He grinned.

She’d never seen him grin like that before.

She smiled back before she knew what she was doing.

“My uncle told me once that he’d studied waterbending in order to master redirecting lightening. To redirect a person’s energy instead of meeting it face-on. It made me think what other things we could learn from one another. Our nations have been at war for so long…instead we could have been working together.”

A few days ago, Katara might’ve said something along the lines of ‘and who’s fault it that?’ but she knew Zuko better now. He knew full well what atrocities the Fire Nation had inflicted. Instead she only said, “You’ll make a good Firelord.”

Zuko shook, obviously surprised at her words. His golden eyes met her own and she thought, perhaps for the first time, how beautiful they were. “Thank you.”

They continued going through the firebending forms for a few more moments when Katara gradually started shifting back into her waterbending – and Zuko came along with her. It was her turn to grin.

Zuko watched her attentively, trying his best to not make a mistake. “So Toph can metalbend…I can redirect lightening…and you can…control people? Like that man on the ship.”

Katara stopped and the grin slipped from her face.

She immediately looked away from him. He had seen her bloodbending – he knew what she could do. She moved to pick her towel back up, intending to leave, but he reached out and grabbed her wrist.

“I’m sorry. Did I say something?”

“No,” she sighed. “It’s just something I’m not comfortable about. It makes me feel…bad…rotten-

_Powerful._

-It’s called bloodbending.”

“Bloodbending,” he repeated. “And you think this makes you bad? The fact that you can control someone? Katara, that’s not true.”

“Of course it is!” He was still holding her wrist and she jerked it away. “Controlling someone? Nobody should have that power.”

“But you do. Katara, you aren’t bad or evil. You’re one of the bravest and kindest people I’ve ever met…” Zuko seemed to hesitate then and looked down to meet her eyes. “Just because you have this power, doesn’t mean you are bad. It’s _your_ power. Maybe in the hands of Ozai it would be used for horrible purposes but you’re different…you wouldn’t do that. You could use it for good.”

“But…” She suddenly felt near tears. Her earlier thoughts came crashing back to her and she shook her head. Her thoughts just seemed to be tumbling out of her…“I liked it. When I used it on that guard, I felt…powerful. I liked humiliating him. Making him feel powerless. I liked…being in control.”

Zuko regarded her silently. Then he reached out and wiped away one of her escaped tears. His touch was gentle – soft. “You’ve lost so much in this war…it’s understandable that you want some semblance of control. But _you are not wicked_.”

His words twisted something within her and she felt grateful to him – for his kind words, his touch, his being there with her at this late hour.

He continued. “Don’t turn away from it. Show me - use it on me now.”

Katara stepped back away from him, surprised. “W-What?”

“Bloodbend me…”

He looked so sincere and earnest. She had sworn off using bloodbending again but his words had made her think. It is _my_ power. Hama may have used it for wrong…but it’s mine now and I can use it for good. Any bending power could be used for evil if wielded by the ignorant or (in Hama’s case) desperate or insane. It had helped her before – she had used it to defeat Hama when she tried to hurt Aang and Sokka.

“…if you can.”

He was teasing her! He smirked at her and held his arms out in a gesture of surrender.

Katara glanced up at the moon, blazing in all its glory above them. It was the perfect night to practice bending and she was safe here with her friends sleeping soundly inside the house. Zuko was asking her to practice on him. The taboo of controlling someone against their will – something she did not relish – was instantly gone. She would do it.

She had only used bloodbending before in stressful situations and so was hesitant – unsure of how to begin.

Zuko remained still in front of her, wearing only his trousers. His chest was white and smooth and his wiry muscles were still glistening from the work out. He was taller than Sokka, having to look down to meet her eyes, but leaner. He had grown up in a palace where food was in abundance and so never had to hunt, to swim. Katara wondered what sort of man Zuko would grow into.

Well, he was a man. He was of age and set to be Firelord. She noticed that he had a trail of dark hair on his flat stomach that led down to his waistband. She tried not to blush. She was only wearing her white under-wrap and she knew that her own body was no longer that of a child’s. Over the last few months she had noticed her body changing – her hips were wider and her breasts fuller. It was almost indecent to be training in her wraps now but she had little choice. She realized her pulse was racing.

She focused on her pulse for a moment and how it moved. She pictured the water – the blood - inside herself. How it moved around her limbs, connecting. It was life. She looked at Zuko’s neck and saw a similar pulse.

She concentrated and then deliberately moved her hands.

Zuko’s arms snapped down to his side.

They both gasped.

Katara’s heart was racing. She felt excited – giddy.

“I can’t fight it,” Zuko panted with the obvious effort. “I have no control over it.”

“No, you don’t,” she agreed. She was focusing on his pulse – she could feel the way it quickened and throbbed around his body. She could feel him struggling but it was futile. It might’ve felt indecent to be doing to this to Zuko under normal circumstances but tonight she was letting any inhibitions slip by. “I do.”

She made his arms clench together behind his back.

She stepped towards him.

Another wave had him drop to his knees.

Zuko was silent and staring up at her. Katara stared back. She closed the distance between them so that they were almost touching. As he was down on his knees his head was level with her waist.

“How does it feel?” he was almost whispering.

“Intoxicating.”

She had spoken without thinking. She really was feeling intoxicated – the feeling of the moon’s glare, her own power, and his pulse all combined into a very delicious cocktail. It was almost overbearing. Her limbs began to shake, and she could feel the hairs on her arms stand up.

Zuko was staring her with a look of total…what?...on his face. Want. He was fascinated by her.

“Can I touch you?” Her voice was hesitant – soft.

“Yes.”

Katara gently reached down and put her hand on his head, feeling his thick hair. Instead of bringing her back down to earth, it only increased her exhilaration. “I can feel your pulse…your heartbeat…the way your blood is racing.” Her touch lowered until she was stroking the rough skin of his ruined cheek. She had touched him here before in Ba Sing Se. Zuko was able to turn his face into her touch.

Katara looked magnificent standing above him in the moonlight. Her long brown hair fell down to her slender waist in messy tangles. The look on her face was one of (although she would not know it yet) ecstasy. Her blue eyes were still fixed on him. She truly looked like some kind of goddess in this moment. She saw Zuko’s gaze take in her body above him – taking in the new curves and promises that it held secret. A flash of total need crossed his face.

How easy would it be to run her hands across his chest? To stroke every inch of him.

“Katara?”

His voice brought her out of her trance slightly.

“Zuko?”

“Kiss me.”

The world around them was silent, as if holding its breath.

Katara leant forward and brushed her lips against his.

As she did, she let go of his body.

As soon as Zuko realized this, he went to snatch her to him, but she was already gone.

Katara slipped away and went back inside, her heart racing. She lay down on her blankets for a long time before she felt calm.

Bloodbending might not be so bad.


End file.
